A torrential downpour may have moved the Florida State soccer team's first practice of fall camp inside the football team's Indoor Practice Facility, but it couldn't dampen the excitement surrounding what should be an extremely competitive Seminoles team.

"My first impressions are very favorable," FSU head coach Mark Krikorian said Wednesday morning after the Seminoles' first practice.

"I think we have a lot of talented players, a great deal of depth and it should be an exciting season for us."

Expectations weren't a talking point from the team after their first practice, but this year's team enters the season with plenty of them.

FSU has six seniors on this year's roster and has a well-established chemistry among a number of players that have been multiple-year starters for the Seminoles.

In truth, this is probably FSU's most experienced team since the Seminoles won the 2014 NCAA Championship with a roster that had seven seniors.

"The last two years, our graduating classes have been pretty small so we've kind of had the same collection of players the last two years," senior midfielder Megan Connolly said.

"We have a huge senior class this year so there's a lot of veterans coming back, a lot of good young players coming in. A lot of people just ready to play, ready to get at it after last year so it's exciting."

For FSU, it was an eventful summer around the globe both together and apart.

The team got to take a nine-day European trip together which took them to Amsterdam, Belgium, and France. It allowed them to bond, see the sights, and participate in practices and games at each stop.

"I think it was very worthwhile in so many different ways. The obvious part is you get an opportunity to practice a little bit more, play some extra games," Krikorian said.

"I think there's great value off the field in developing that team feel and all of the players coming together in a different way. There are some shared experiences they had that are unique and that they're probably going to be able to cherish for the rest of their lives. I do think that will be able to help us as we are building our team."

Many members of the FSU roster also trekked the globe for soccer opportunities apart from their teammates.

Connolly (Ireland) and senior defender/midfielder Natalia Kuikka (Finland) both got the opportunity to compete in World Cup qualification matches for their respective countries.

Three current Seminoles, Dallas Dorosy, Olivia Bergau and Taylor Hollman, spent part of their summers in Niigata, Japan, playing for the Niigata Albirex Ladies.

Gloriana Villalobos (Costa Rica) and Deyna Castellanos (Venezuela) also got the chance to represent their countries in the Central American and Caribbean Games last month.

Villalobos scored twice en route to Costa Rica's second-place finish, and Castellanos scored once and played a key role in Venezuela winning the third-place game.

"It's great to see people playing all over the place. I think that's a great opportunity Mark gives us," Connolly said.

"It's exciting seeing everyone doing that, everyone getting to play over summer and then just coming back in everyone is sharp, ready to go and bring all that into the season."

The Seminoles' 2018 schedule is exciting for multiple reasons.

For one, it is challenging.

Eleven of FSU's 18 regular-season opponents were ranked or receiving votes at the end of the 2017 season.

It's a non-conference slate that includes teams such as USC and UCLA -- both in the same weekend at the end of August -- Florida and Vanderbilt.

FSU welcomes in 21-time NCAA Champion North Carolina on Sep. 14 to kick off a difficult ACC slate.

"They're the games you want to play in. You come to Florida State to play at the highest level and to have that schedule, back-to-back home games with such high talent is so exciting for all of us," Connolly said.

"Everyone is really excited for it, but we've got to remember first game, one at a time, Vanderbilt on the 16th, open up and just take it one at a time because if we get ahead of ourselves, get thinking about UCLA games, USC games, we'll lose focus on now."

The other exciting side of FSU's schedule is how many games FSU has at home.

Seven of FSU's eight non-conference matches -- five of which are against teams from power conferences -- will be held in Tallahassee.

"When you look at that lineup of teams that we have coming in here, I think the fans are going to get treated to some very high-level soccer and many, many opportunities," Krikorian said.

"We're going to be challenged, that's for sure, but you guys are going to be treated to some very good players and some very good soccer."

FSU begins its 2018 season on Thursday, Aug. 16 against Vanderbilt at the Seminole Soccer Complex.